3 films we’re (really) looking forward to this Summer

Based on the best-selling novel (because that’s how all good film scripts originate nowadays) from M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans tells the story of a lighthouse keeper named Tom (Michael Fassbender) and his wife Isabel (Fassbender’s real life love Alicia Vikander). Set on an island off Western Australia, the couple rescue a baby from an errant rowboat. It’s not until years later – and after raising the baby as their own – that Tom makes a shocking and devastating discovery; their daughter’s real mother (Rachel Weisz) is living among them on the small island. So will they tell their secret? Trivia: the film was actually shot in a quiet seaside town called Stanley in Tasmania. It was also this film set in which the star couple fell in real life love in September 2014. (The pairing may have had something to do with the director, Derek Cianfrance making Fassbender and Vikander live together on set for six weeks.)

In Australian cinemas November 3

LA LA LAND

Credit: Instagram @screenscoop

Set in metropolis Los Angeles, the Damien Chazelle directed project tells the story of aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) falling in love with Jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). But as fame and success mounts, the couple face challenges that could inevitably tear their love affair apart. This is Stone and Gosling’s third film together and critics have said, could be one of their best. Trivia: The role Sebastian was originally given to Miles Teller however when Gosling showed interest, Teller was dropped. Emma Watson was originally offered the role of Mia.

In Australian cinemas December 26

A Monster Calls

Credit: Instagram @amonstercalls

Each night 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) suffers nightmares because his mum (Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones) is terminally sick and he dreads going to school for fear of the bullies who tease him. One night though, a big creature – a monster if you will, (voiced by Liam Neeson) – is uprooted from the graveyard behind his house and takes him on a fantastical journey, encouraging him to let out all of his anger and fight on. From acclaimed director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible, The Orphanage), the fantasy genre hasn’t done too well this year but could this 2017 film buck that trend?

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